This is excellent news. Del Toro has been one of my top choices to take on The Hobbit ever since I saw Pan's Labyrinth. Everything he's said so far sounds like he's approaching the films with a great attitude. (I'm trying not to let my expectations run too high, though.)

The only question I have is the correction to the AP wire story that announced his selection as director. Del Toro said that the second movie would cover the period between the end of The Hobbit and the beginning of Lord of the Rings, but the AP correction seems to contradict this:

"Please note that this version DELETES INCORRECT reference to second movie spanning time between "Hobbit" and "Rings"; New Line now says movies are based on book only."

Does this mean that the two Hobbit movies are only allowed to make use of material that's in The Hobbit? Or does it mean that Del Toro can use material from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings (i.e., the appendices), but not things like The Quest For Erebor that weren't included in the original movie rights? Or is AP totally out to lunch? With caffeine, all things are possible.